Ehted Palm

General Information

The Ehted Palm, by localy reffered to as "Jewel Palm", is a palm tree that is commonly found in the Avik desert in the north west of orcerta.
It yields one of the sweetest, most nutritious and as such also most wanted fruits on the continent.

Appearance

Trunk

The Trunk of the Jewel Palm can reach up to 25m in height and is covered in rings made out of leaf bases. Each ring, commonly referred to as Kruv stands for a growth of roughly 2 years.

Leaves and Stem

Leaves of the Jewel Palm are arranged in two rows along the stem and are enveloped in a thick but hard shell before they unfold which makes them very thorn like in appearance.
After they the leaves grew to a size of about 20cm and the next one to two Kruv started growing they lose their protective shell and grow another 20-40cm into an induplicate - V-like - shape.
The Stem of each Leaf is very thick and sturdy and grows to roughly 6m.

Flowers and Fruits

Unlike other fruit trees, the flowers and fruits of the Jewel Palm grow near the trunk base and not the tree top. While this seems to make them more susceptible to harmful occurrences, the opposite is the case. The flowers and fruits are cared for by the [rain maker] who get additional nourishment from their nectar for their eggs in exchange for care and protection.

Big plants for small Gardens

Not unlike jewels themselves does this tree need a very specific environment to grow in.
Shying away from oases and rivers, Jewel Palms grow over and near the burrows of the [rain maker] beetle. These little critters supply the tree with a nutrious liquid that they can not live without anymore.
Many attempts have been made to grow these trees outside of the desert without any success.

Living as a house plant

While it hasn't been possible for these trees to grow outside of the desert, they still maintain their current size in good care.
As such, these plants are highly thought after rarities to show ones standing.

Symbolism

Due to the ability of these palms to grow in the desert, yield superb fruits while still relying on an animal, they have become common plants to be given as a present at weddings to signify a family.

A family is the greatest gift a person can get, but it has to be nourished and groomed, for without care, nothing great will grow from it.